LAUGHLIN, Nev.-Southern California racing brothers Dale and Mike Dondel held
off a comeback charge by Las Vegas' Troy Herbst to claim the overall victory
Sundayat the 8th Annual SCORE Laughlin Desert Challenge, held along the banks
of the Colorado river adjacent to the growing Southern Nevada resort
destination of Laughlin.

Racing in the unlimited Class 1, the Dondels beat a field of 114 racers
in the first major motorsports race of the year-the opening round of the
six-race 2002 Duralast SCORE Desert Series, America's foremost desert racing
series. Racers came from 12 states, Mexico and Japan to launch the new racing
season during the unique, four-day SCORE Laughlin Desert Challenge, which
included Thursday's pre-race $25,000 Laughlin Leap and Pit Crew Showdown.

Dan Smith, driving both halves of the two-day event while his driving
partner Dave Ashley was sidelined with a stomach ailment, came from behind to
win the featured SCORE Trophy-Truck division in his Enduro Racing Ford F-150.

Driving a Chevy-powered Nye Frank open-wheel desert race car, the
Dondels, of Hemet, Calif., covered the 104 mile race run as eight laps over a
13-mile course in a total elapsed time of one hour, 33 minutes, 28 seconds
with an impressive average speed of 66.76 miles per hour. Dale Dondel drove
Saturday and Mike Dondel fnished up Sunday.
Herbst, the Las Vegas racer who drives a Ford-powered Smithbuilt, finished
one minute, 35 minutes behind the Dondels despite finishing Sunday's second
half of the race in the front, one second faster than the Dondels.

The event was split into two days of racing with 17 classes for desert
race cars and exotic race trucks divided into seven groups for seven separate
races each day. From sunrise to sunset, racers covered the 13-mile loop
course in multiple lap races with time limits of 75 or 85 minutes each. The
event finishing order, by class, was based on the combined two-day elapsed
time of each racer.

"My big brother did all the set up work for me on this one by giving me a
big lead to start the day with," said Mike Dondel, 25, about his older
brother Dale, 37. "I had the opportunity to play it safe and win or do
something foolish and lose and I think I worked it well enough to stay ahead
of Troy and everybody else."

In the marquee SCORE Trophy-Truck division, the top two first-day leaders
Mark Post, San Juan Capistrano, Calif./Jerry Welchel, Rancho Santa Margarita,
Calif., and brothers Josh and Jason Baldwin had problems Sunday, falling far
back in the field.

With 11 vehicles competing, Smith was third in the class through
Saturday's first half of the race-1:53 behind Post/Welchel and 1:02 behind
the Baldwins. Moving up to finish second for the race after being fifth after
Saturday was Damen Jefferies, Oak Hills, Calif., in the Herman Motorsports
Ford F-150, just 45 seconds behind Smith. A three-time SCORE class champion
in three different classes, the race was the first for Jefferies in the SCORE
Trophy-Truck division.

In the heated Class 1 battle, the extremely consistent Dondel turned his
four laps in times of 11:25, 11:19, 11:19 and 11:22 on Saturday and backed it
up on Sunday with times of 12:08, 12:02, 11:54 and 11:59. Finishing third
behind the
Dondels and Herbst in Class 1 was the team of Wayne Lugo, Ontario,
Calif./Craig Stewart, Santee, Calif., with a total time of 1:36:32 in a
Ford-powered Stewart's buggy.

Capturing the win in a 14-vehicle field in Protruck was Steve Barlow,
Temecula, Calif., in a Ford F-150. In winning his class in this race for the
second straight year, Barlow beat two more Ford F-150s driven by Rick
Johnson, Barstow, Calif., and Al Hogan, Columbus, Mont.. Barlow, with a time
of 1:51:55 (55.76mph), defeated Johnson by just under two minutes and Hogan
by3:11.

Veteran George Seeley Jr., Glendale, Calif., continued his Class 5
winning ways in Laughlin as he cruised to his fourth straight win in the race
and his fifth in the last six years in the class for unlimited VW Baja Bugs.
Seeley became the first driver to earn five class wins in this race.

Race weekend festivities started with the extremely popular $25,000
Laughlin Leap and Pit Crew Showdown on Thursday. In the Laughlin Leap, Dondel
was the overall winner with a leap of 130 feet, 11 inches. Siewert/ Susag,
won the Small Truck division with a leap of 95'2"in a Ford Ranger and Las
Vegas' Ed and Tim Herbst won the Big Truck division in a Ford F-150 (124'3").

In the Pit Crew Showdown, the SCORE Lite team of Vic Bruckmann, was the
overall and open wheel division winner with a time of one minute, 7.89
seconds. The Protruck crew of Rick Johnson, Barstow, Calif., won the truck
division in 1:05.12.

All of the Laughlin Leap and Pit Crew Showdown winners earned $3,000 each.

The 8th Annual SCORE Laughlin Desert Challenge was sponsored by the
Laughlin Tourism Committee, the Laughlin Visitors Bureau, a division of the
Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, and Las Vegas Events.

Round 2 of the 2002 Duralast SCORE Desert Series will be the 15th Annual
Tecate SCORE San Felipe 250 in Baja California, Mexico.

For more information, contact SCORE International at its Los Angeles
headquarters at (818) 225-8402 or visit the official Duralast SCORE Desert
Series website at www.score-international.com.